Empirical Policymaking: FinRegLab CEO Melissa Koide

Jo Ann Barefoot

Jo Ann Barefoot is CEO & Founder of the Alliance for Innovative Regulation, Cofounder of Hummingbird RegTech, and host of the podcast show Barefoot Innovation. A noted advocate of “regulation innovation,” Jo Ann is Senior Fellow Emerita at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business & Government and is writing a book on financial innovation and regulation. She has been Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, partner at KPMG, Co-Chairman of Treliant Risk Advisors, and staff member at the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. She’s an angel investor, serves on the board of Oportun, and advises financial companies and governments worldwide. She serves on the fintech advisory committee for FINRA, is an Executive Board Member of the International RegTech Association (IRTA), a member of the Milken Institute U.S. FinTech Advisory Committee, and a member of the California Government Operations Agency Blockchain Working Group Advisory Board. Jo Ann previously chaired the board of the Financial Health Network (previously called the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), and previously served on the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board. Jo Ann has published nearly 200 articles and is a popular keynote speaker, addressing thousands of people annually throughout the world.

Melissa Koide

Prior to establishing FinRegLab, Melissa served as the U.S. Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consumer Policy. In that role, Melissa helped to build the first government offered preretirement savings product, the myRA. She also established the $5 million Innovation Fund to support research and strategies to improve consumers’ financial health and their access to safe and affordable financial products and services. Melissa has testified before the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees, and she has spoken extensively to policy, industry, and consumer advocacy audiences. She is also a member of the New York State Department of Financial Services’ Financial Innovation Advisory Board.